The Messenger
by MistressSymone
Summary: 50 years after Elena meets Klaus. Damon and Stefan failed to save her from Klaus and each have gone they're separate ways; Stefan disappears to Italy, but Damon stays at the Boarding House drinking away the pain…until someone pops in for a visit.
1. Surprise!

The Messenger

Summary: 50 years after Elena meets Klaus. Damon and Stefan failed to save her from Klaus and each have gone they're separate ways; Stefan disappears to Italy, but Damon stays at the Boarding House drinking away the pain…until someone pops in for a visit.

Chapter 1: Surprise!

Damon enters the Boarding House, shrugging off his leather jacket and tossing it on the table by the entrance. He trudged towards his favorite room in the house; the parlor.

Damon stops suddenly at the familiar face sitting in his favorite chair by the fire. "What are you doing here?" he growls bitterly. "Don't you have lives to destroy?"

She feigns a pout and frowns. "Ouch Damon…that hurts." She bounced her crossed leg over her knee. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

Damon laughed at the irony. "I'm never happy to see you. What do you want?" he stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. She was the last person he'd ever hope to see again.

She tilted her head to the side letting her curls tumble off her shoulder. "I can't visit an old friend?" she asked with a sad smile, laced with a smirk.

He narrowed his blue eyes in a ruthless glare. "We were never friends Katherine. You fucked me, used me, lied to me and then you killed me." He couldn't believe the nerve she had to come back and act like they were old friends after everything he put her through. He took note of her outfit; a pair of blue jeans, flat knee high boots, and a plain purple tank top with a black cropped leather jacket. It just seemed too casual for her. "Have to say, this new look isn't really you."

She frowned with a small pout. "I'm a little insulted…I thought you of all people would be able to recognize me." Her lips lifted in a half smirk at the realization on his face.

"Elena?" he asked shocked.

She threw her arms in the air with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Surprise!"

He swallowed the lump in his throat at the change he saw in the girl that used to be so innocent. "I thought you were dead." He croaked.

She nodded once. "You thought right."

Damon's face contorted from the agony in his heart. "No…" he whispered to himself. "Who did this to you?"

"Klaus." She stated casually as she stood to pour herself a glass of bourbon. "Once you and your merry little gang killed all the werewolves, Klaus could no longer break the curse; so he decided to keep me around…I reminded him of _Katherine_." She sneered out her name in disdain before taking a long sip.

Damon blinked in surprise. "You've been with him this whole time?" he growled with barely concealed rage.

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I had no choice Damon."

He crossed his arm over his crest in a protective manner. "So why are you back, why now?" He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the answer. Was it just to mess with him, was it to cause trouble in the town he spent the last spent the last few months fixing the damage he'd done himself.

Elena strolled up to him looking up at him through her lashes in that sexy way she does. "I've come to deliver a message. Klaus wants to see you."

Damon raised a brow sarcastically. "Really? Why…to rip my throat out for foiling his master plan…I'll pass." He walked passed her, nudging her shoulder and headed to the bar for a full glass of scotch. He chugged it down quickly and refilled it. He was nearly shaking with rage at the nonchalant attitude that emanated from her.

She spun around. "Not at all." She leaned against the back of the couch, her arms spread out along the back. "He's impressed, Damon. We both are." She purred, and it made him glance at her sharply. "Your quick disregard of human life, the path of destruction you've left in your wake...he thinks you'll be an asset." She praised proudly. "And so do I."

He shook his head staring with wide eyes at the woman before him. "Who are you?"

Elena's face hardened. "I'm not the sweet, innocent little Elena you used to know Damon." She bit out. "Fifty years with Klaus changed me…It feels good." She smiled. "It feels good to not care and to follow my instincts…to be rid of human emotion." Elena titled her head to the side. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Damon's jaw tightened. "A few months ago I would have answered yes." A few months ago he was the old Damon: killing for fun (or if he were to admit it to himself, in a vain attempt to heal his pain) and destroying whatever stood in his way.

Elena snapped her fingers and rolled her eyes skyward. "That's right! You're 'reformed'. Trying to _be good_…save the world _blah, blah, blah_." She continued with a bored expression and tone.

He narrowed his eyes. "You keeping tabs on me?" he chugged back his drink and put the glass down on the bar.

"Mhm." She nodded slowly.

"Klaus' orders?" he asked. He was curious as to whether or not she still had a bit of her humanity; if she ever thought of him.

"Partly." She admitted. She strutted closer to him, her hips sway seductively. "I missed you Damon. I needed to make sure if you were okay...I was worried." For a moment he heard the old Elena in her voice and he could see her in the eyes that were now much colder.

But he couldn't fall for it. If he did then he would only be making the same mistake he did with Katherine. "Isn't worry one of the 'human emotions' you were so desperate to get rid of?" he questioned with a snarky tone.

She closed the distance between them, looking up at him with softer eyes, and her fingers reaching out for his. He pulled away. "You know I cared about you. Don't think that just because I'm a vampire I'm going to stop." She admitted.

He asked the question, and then mentally slapped himself for bringing him up. "What about Stefan?"

She rolled her eyes. "What _about _Stefan?" she spat out his name like it was a sour lemon.

Damon tried not to let the closeness of her affect him. It had been fifty years…and he was still so utterly and completely in love with her. "You keeping tabs on him too?" he watched her sigh and step back, annoyed at the turn in conversation. "Has he been blessed with one of your surprise visits?"

Elena shrugged noncommittally. "I popped in on him once…he thought I was Katherine too…I didn't correct him."

Damon scoffed. "I thought he was the _love of you life_?" he expressed with bitterness.

She flashed him a bright smile. "Well I'm not alive anymore." Her smile dropped as she spoke more seriously. "My love for him died when I did." She reached a hand up to caress the side of his face gently. "Come back with me Damon." She smiled sweetly. "Think of all the fun we could have…the three of us." She whispered.

He tore her hand form his face and stared her dead in the eye. "This isn't turning into some kinky threesome." He growled. Why could he never have anything for himself?

She pouted. "Why not? You don't want me anymore?" she looked seriously offended as if she wasn't expecting that answer.

His face softened. He couldn't help it. "I want you…" he vowed. "I'll always want you, but I won't share you." He shook his head sighed sadly.

Elena sighed and the emotion fled from her face and eyes. "Are you coming or not?" her tone sounded bored and she cocked her hip to the side sharply.

Damon eyed her up and down taking in her new Katherine-like qualities. He briefly wondered if this _was _Katherine playing a little prank on him, but he could still see the old Elena in her eyes…somewhere in there. "How do I know this isn't a trap…that the second you take me to him I'm not gonna get a stake through my heart? Hm?" he questioned crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes critically.

She shrugged with a playful smile. "You're just gonna have to trust me?" Elena tilted her head looking up at him through her lashes. "You _do_ trust me, don't you Damon?" Seconds later Damon had her pinned to the far wall, his hands on her shoulders and his face dangerously close to hers. She giggled coyly. "Ooh, this is new."

Damon growled, the veins under his eyes protruding menacingly. "Don't _fuck_ with me Elena; I've got a hundred and sixty _years_ on you." He whispered heatedly in her ear.

"That may be true…" she whispered back before quickly flipping them and pinning him to the wall. Damon tried to free himself but she held him in place. "Ah, ah, ah…I'm not done." She pressed herself up against his hard chest, her hands coasting over his abs. "I may be younger than you Damon, but I am most definitely stronger." She leaned in real close, her lips almost touching his. "So don't fuck with _me_." Elena pushed away from him suddenly, darting herself to the wet bar and pouring another drink.

Damon was shocked to saw the least. Never had he heard of or encountered a vampire that was younger than him and stronger. He tried to fight her, but she effortlessly held him back. "How?" he asked breathlessly.

She swirled her drink in the glass before taking a healthy sip. She turned around, her straight hair fanning out around her. "Klaus like to surround himself with the best…" she shrugged a shoulder and took another sip. "And now I am. How do you think I got to be his right arm, by sitting at his feet like a lap dog?" she continued as she settled herself on the couch she previously occupied. "Like Rose did?" she added it like a rhetorical question, but it sounded like a stab.

Damon tried not to wince at the twinge he felt when he heard her name. He may have never loved her like he ever loved Elena, but Rose was the closest thing he had to a friend, a confidant other than Alaric…who for all his years could still hold his bourbon. He pulled himself together and replied as nonchalantly as possible. He couldn't let her get to him; he couldn't let her slowly break him down like Katherine did. He refused. "So what?" he shrugged. "Klaus just _gave_ you all this power? I find that hard to believe." He scoffed.

"I earned it." Elena started with a small smile. "I'm pretty good to him…I could be good to you too." She raised her eyebrows in a very Damon-like manner.

He didn't like this new Elena. She was totally opposite of the woman he used to know and it made his heart sink. "After everything he put you through…" Damon began lowly. "How could you even lower yourself like that?" he could help the hitch in his voice.

Elena's dark eyes bore holes in his. "Who do you think I am Damon; kind-hearted, noble, self sacrificing Elena Gilbert? I'm not...she died a long time ago, and now the rest of me has learned how to keep myself alive. Plus…he's not so hard on the eyes." She chuckled to herself. "He's kinda like you in that way."

Damon scoffed. _"Hardly._" He was way better looking than _Klaus_.

She smiled coyly, her eyes twinkling. "You're right...you are way sexier." She corrected herself as she pointed at him with the hand that was holding her glass. She brought her finger to lips. "But shh…don't tell. Now let's go." She was up and in front of him before she finished her sentence. "Klaus doesn't like to wait." She pounded back her drink and headed for the door. When she didn't hear him following she turned around. "Don't make me carry you outta here Damon." She raised a brow dangerously high. "You know I can now." Elena grinned with satisfaction when Damon reluctantly trailed behind her. "Oh it'll be fun! Remember our last road trip?" she questioned as she sped to the car parked down the driveway. She waited for him to catch up. "We had fun, didn't we?" she _almost_ sounded self conscious, be he was _almost _certain it was just a ploy.

"Yes, we did." He answered desolately as he slid in the passenger seat of her sleek black 2012 Audi E-tron. "Nice car." His hand trailed over the soft leather seat.

"A perk." She mentioned off handedly as she got in and started the car, peeling out down the street. She glanced at him when after twenty minutes Damon had yet to breathe a word. "Are you gonna give me the silent treatment the whole way there? It's gonna be a long drive if you do."

"Where is 'there'?"

"Not anywhere near here that's for sure." She stated vaguely.

Damon watched through the passenger window as the green scenery passed by in a blur. "Why did he send you? Why not another one of his _goons_?" he put extra emphasis on the word just to get a reaction.

She chuckled. "First of all, I'm not a _goon_. I'm his right arm…his benefactor, and secondly Klaus trusts me…above all his _goons_." She drawled out the word with mirth.

Damon frowned. "I didn't think he was capable." He mumbled to himself. "Did he compel you? Is that why you're here?" he continued to pester.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Enough with the questions Damon…I can't answer them."

His eyes widened with triumph as he inadvertently got her to answer his question. "So he did compel you? Guess he doesn't trust you that much." He stated spitefully.

"Damon…you can stop talking now." She growled pressing down on the accelerator with vigor.

He laughed. "Oh no, it is much too fun getting you all riled up…I forgot how pissy it made you." He figured if he was gonna be stuck in a car with her to spend what could be the rest of eternity serving Klaus, he might as well get his kicks in while he could. He drummed a rhythm on the dash board with his hands, raising the tempo and rapidity, as he mumbled a song to himself.

Elena sighed in annoyance. "Can you please stop?" she asked tersely through gritted teeth. When he continued to get louder, she glanced at him sharply. "Seriously?"

Damon looked at her with his most innocent of faces. "What?"

A ghost of a smile graced her face as she shook her head, before she quickly wiped it off. "Don't act like that around Klaus, it won't fly with him."

"Act like what?" he continued in a sickly sweet tone, his eyes wide, and a bright smile. He did the eye thing that he knew that she hated but secretly loved.

"Like _that_. All cute, and coy and charming…he won't fall for it."

He raised a brow. "Oh, but you can pull it off? I don't see how that's fair."

Elena glanced at him with a smirk. "It's not…but there's something to be said about the feminine wile of a seductress. He finds it endearing." Damon noticed that as she said this, the light left her eyes, and the flirty tone evaporated. She sounded hollow.

Damon frowned, seriousness taking over his face. He knew then that this attitude that she was projecting; the lack of compassion, the stone wall front, the cynicism…it wasn't real. She was protecting herself. He should have recognized sooner…he was the master of that.

A/N: Alright everybody I hope you liked the first chapter…I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, it depends on how carried away my mind gets lol. I know Elena seemed a lot like Katherine but a lot will be explained in future chapters as to why. Thanks for reading my lovelies!


	2. King Of England

Chapter 2: King of England

After a silent trip to the airport, they boarded a private jet. Damon still hadn't figured out where they were going and he was pretty sure no one wanted him to. They never announced it on the plane, and when they landed five hours later, all he could remember was seeing Elena's blurry face before it all went black.

He woke up a significant amount of time later, judging by the height of the sun in the window of the large room he was in. He was slumped on the couch, his hands tied behind his back with what felt like vervain soaked ropes. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes and saw Klaus sitting in a chair, or a throne to be exact directly in front of him, with Elena standing at his side obediently.

"You tricked me…" he mumbled to her. "You gonna kill me now?" he attempted to push himself up into a sitting position but he was too weak to do so.

Klaus' laugh echoed through the room ominously. "Of course not…as long as you cooperate there should be no reason to kill you. How was your trip?" he asked as if they were old friends.

"Where am I?" he asked instead, trying to focus on his surroundings.

"Not important right now…you didn't cause too much trouble for my lovely Elena I hope; I would hate to have to skip the pleasantries and move right on to the denunciation." Damon noticed him turning something around in his hand, and with closer inspection he realized it was his ring.

"He wasn't a trouble at all." He heard Elena say. "He came willingly." The firmness of her voice told him to play along.

"Is that right?" Klaus directed the question back at Damon and received a slow nod. "Well then, I suppose I could return this to you. You'll be needing it." he handed the ring to Elena, who sped over to Damon and slipped it back on his finger. "You must be hungry…it was a long journey, not to mention the amount of vervain in your system. I apologize for that, it was just a precaution…you understand." He continued nonchalantly. "Elena." He barked his eyes still trained on Damon. "Grab a quick meal for our friend here, will you."

She nodded her head once. "Of course." She sped out of the room leaving Damon alone with Klaus.

"I won't kill anyone." Damon vowed finally pushing himself into a more comfortable seating position.

Klaus smirked slyly. "But see that's why you're here." His grin widened when Elena sped back into the room with a struggling girl in her arms. "So, eat up."

Elena brought the crying girl towards Damon, quickly releasing him of the ropes and waited for him to have her. He did nothing. "Damon…" she said in a warning tone…one he was familiar with. "You need to feed."

He looked into the girl's face; her eyes were pleading with him not to hurt her. "I can't." he whispered shaking his head.

The smirk on Klaus' face dropped immediately but he didn't move from his throne. Elena swallowed nervously glancing back at Klaus before fixing her gaze back on Damon. "Damon, you have to." She whispered almost inaudibly. "He'll kill you." Her eyes pleaded with him too, and he was torn. But he could never say no to her…not even like this, not even when _this_ is what she was asking of him. Damon slowly stood, using the shoulders of this sobbing girl to support his weight. "Shh…" he started, with the intention of using his compulsion.

"Ah-ah-ah." Klaus admonished. "There's no need for that. A true ripper enjoys the fear of their prey."

Damon stared her in the face, watching her sob rivers of tears, begging for her life, and offering to do anything he asked. He knew that nothing could safe this poor girl…not even him. "I'm sorry." He whispered sadly before quickly biting down hard on her neck. Her screams fell silent as he drained the life out of her as quickly as he could to safe her from the pain. He let her body fall to a heap on the floor, and licked his blood stained lips.

"Perfect." Klaus drawled out slowly, very satisfied with himself. "Roger." He barked with a snap of his fingers. "Clean up Mr. Salvatore's mess, will you?" it was asked lightly, but clearly it was meant as an order. A vampire quickly came out form the shadows and picked up the body effortlessly from Damon's feet and sped her out the back door. "Very good, Damon." He applauded like a proud father. "This is the start of a new beginning for you, son." He grinned widely. "A great beginning."

"Where am I? What do you want with me?" Damon asked again, around a mouthful of blood.

"Elena will show you to your room…she will explain everything you need to know." His eyes moved between his benefactor and Damon.

She nodded once before heading for the stairs expecting him to follow. He waited until she reached the top of the stairs before speeding up in front of her. "Tell me what the hell is going on?" he growled in her face.

She simply raised a finger to her lips before tapping her ear. She stepped past him and nodded for him to follow her through the farthest wing of the mansion to a door at the end. She opened the door and showed him the large space that was to be his for his time there. It was bigger than his room back home. "This will be your room; you can make yourself at home here." Elena's eyes drifted and rested on the wall adjacent to the door in the hall. She put her hand on the wall and closed her eyes as she tuned in to what was going on downstairs.

"_Roger, call on Maddox, he and I have business to attend to in town. Tell Miss. Elena that I shall be back before sunrise." _

"_Yes, sir…right away." _

Elena waited patiently. "Everything that you could possibly need is at your disposal, just ask Roger. There's a mini fridge fully stocked with the bagged stuff, although Klaus would prefer if you ate out. This is only for emergencies." She heard the front door open and close, and brought her finger to her lips again. She pushed on the wall and it opened up enough for them to slip through.

Damon followed her in closing the door behind them and looking around. The walls were padded floor to ceiling. He couldn't even hear a whisper of wind on the other side of the door.

Elena turned around to face him. "This is the only room in the house that's sound proof. Klaus insisted on it, and other than him I'm the only one that knows about it."

"Why did you show me this?" he asked her still looking at the plain white of the entire room.

She hooked her thumbs into the loop of her jeans. "Because this is the only place we can really talk without being heard." She sighed. "You have to do what he says Damon. You have to do it without question or he'll kill you. He may want you on our side, but if you make any bumps in the road for him…" she left the statement hanging looking at him with concern.

"Why do you care?"

She sighed dramatically. "I care Damon…we wouldn't be in here if I didn't. But that's not what's important right now." She stepped closer fiddling with her hands. "I'm trying to save you from the same fate Elijah was given."

Damon frowned. "Elijah's dead?"

She nodded, starting to pace I front of him biting her thumbnail. "Everything was fine at first, but then Elijah was caught plotting against him and the next thing I know he's getting the dagger through his heart." She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Living with Klaus is like living with King Henry VIII." She whispered conspiratorially. "You say one thing to insult him and its _treason_! He killed his own brother without even batting an eye." She took her hands in his gripping them tightly. "Just be careful." She moved the leave the room but Damon grabbed her arm.

"Is that why you're here? So you don't end up on the scaffold…or is there more?" He asked her looking for an answer in her eyes.

She held his gaze for a few moments. "Goodnight Damon." With that said she pulled from of his grasp and exited the small room.

He followed her out and wandered back into his room. Damon found himself standing by the window, looking out to the acres of land, and rolling hills. He looked out to the cobblestone roads and the rich structure of the city far off in the distance. He knew where he was. "Looks like I'm in merry ol' England." He grumbled to himself.

Elena came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, and drying her hair. She almost jumped when she saw Klaus stretched out gracefully on her bed. She giggled. "Klaus…you're home early." She strolled up to him swaying her hips in a tantalizing way, and sat down beside him, tossing her hair towel on the chair by her window. "Roger said you'd be home by sunrise."

He smiled up at her as he brushed the hair from her face. "Business went according to plan. Maddox has the spell needed for the ritual…we are still in search of the necessary ingredients, but we are one step closer to our final goal, my dear Elena."

Her face broke out into a bright smile. "Really? It's finally happening?" she closed her eyes when he stroked her cheek adoringly.

"Yes my sweet; all in due time. I promised to take care of you, didn't I?" he smirked as he pulled her to straddle his waist.

She giggled, resting her hands on his chest. "Yes you did."

"And I intend to keep that promise…" Klaus' hands gripped her thighs tightly. "As long as you stay loyal to me." He continued in a casual tone.

Elena felt the pain of his grip but held back her wince. "Of course…I live only to serve you." She smirked and wiggled her hips.

He chuckled, loosening his grip and running his hands up her back pulling the towel away. "That's what I like to hear. Now give daddy a kiss." He held the back of her head as she leaned down and crushed her lips to his passionately.


	3. Trust

Chapter 3: Trust

Damon woke early the next morning to a ray of sun beaming on his face, and to the sound of low voices down the hall.

Elena sat at the vanity in her bedroom, combing out her hair leisurely as Klaus stared out the window facing the gardens. She watched him through the mirror apprehensively, worrying what his next words were going to be. Someone was clearly distressing him.

"Can I trust him?" he asked her, his gaze still on the gardens.

Elena placed the comb down letting her eyes fall with it. "You can trust him." She stated lowly.

Klaus turned to her sharply, and sped over turning her around in her chair so he could meet her eyes. "Can I trust him?" he demanded of her. His eyes were hard and penetrating.

Elena smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, of course you can trust him." She assured, watching Klaus' eyes soften instantly.

He ran a hand over her hair. "I'm sorry that I have you do that to you, love…but I needed to be sure, you understand."

Elena let out a breath and smiled. "I understand." She turned back around in her chair grabbing her red lipstick and applying it. "He may be resistant now, but he'll give in…we just need to be patient. He has a lot of potential."

Klaus met her eyes in the mirror. "I can be patient. But you know how my temper can get."

Elena smacked her lips and stood up facing him again. "Let me take care of Damon. I know him…I know how to get him to do what I want." She could see Klaus tense his jaw as he considered this.

"He loves you still…I don't care to leave you alone with him." He grumbled.

Elena smiled up at him. "I can take care of myself. Plus, I can work that to my advantage." She ran her hands up his chest and around his neck. "Damon can't say no to me…and neither can you, so say yes." She giggled when he spun her around and pinned her to the bed covering her neck and chest with kisses. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes." He replied hovering over her. "Don't disappoint me."

Damon opened the bathroom door and slammed it shut. He turned on the shower to hot and got in taking deep breaths to calm himself, but it didn't help. He punched the tile in front of him several times breaking through to the concrete, and staining the water red.

He was fooled again by her! He had never been more livid, and humiliated in his life. He tried to make himself believe that there was a little piece of the old Elena left in her when really all she was doing was using his feelings for her to get what she wanted…and like a idiot he fell for it…because he loved her. He was done. He wasn't going to be her toy.

After another hour, he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel and wrapping it around low around his waist. He wandered back into his room to see Elena sitting on his bed, her back resting against the headboard and her long bare legs linked at the ankles. She was wearing a dark bluish-grey strapless jumper shorts with a pair of nude nubuck wedges and a bright smile.

"Good morning Damon…you take really long showers." She commented as she swung her legs off the bed. Her eyes appraised his body slowly. He didn't answer her. Damon walked right past her to his closet where there were clean shirts and jeans hanging. He was surprised to notice it was things he actually liked. He picked out a black button up, and designer jeans. "I figured you'd like the selection. I picked it all out myself." She stated proudly coming up behind him. Elena raised a brow when he didn't say anything. "Are you going to say anything? Ever?" she asked sarcastically.

"Get out." He mumbled his back still turned to her.

She laughed taken aback. "What?"

"Get out." He said again as he moved back into the bathroom with his clothes.

She huffed loudly and darted in front of him. "Hey! What did I do to make you mad at me?" she frowned with confusion. Damon just stared at her with cold, hardened eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You think you can get what you want out of me because I love you…newsflash Elena, I don't love _this you_. So whatever scheme you have going, and whatever you have planned for me, you can stop right now because I'm on to you." He hissed closing in on her towering over her small frame. She held his gaze before pulling a note out of her pocket. Damon stared at it for a moment before ripping it out of her hand.

_We need to talk. It's important. Meet me in town at noon at Regent's Park. Make sure you're not followed. _

Damon looked up and narrowed his gaze on her. She mouthed 'please' with wide doe eyes, and he nodded his head once.

She sighed in relief before laughing. "I get it…you're just upset that I'm devoted to Klaus now. That it's _him_ who shares my bed. I like it when you get jealous." She said smugly.

Damon balked at Elena as she said this, not understanding this back and forth with her. She stepped closer to him and cupped a hand around his head as she brought her lips to his ear. "The old me is still in there somewhere…you just need to find her." She whispered softly before leaving his room. It was then that he realized that she was doing this for Klaus' sake.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elena stood up from the bench when she saw Damon walking towards her through the park. "Thanks for coming."

Damon glanced anywhere but at her. "What are we doing here Elena?"

"We're you followed?" she looked behind him.

"No."

"Come with me." She led them through the path through the gardens. "I know you heard what I said to Klaus this morning." She started with her head down. "I'm sure that was hard for you."

Damon scoffed. "It's not really a surprise Elena…that's all you've ever done, is use me to get what you want. Why would it be any different now?"

Elena looked up at him with a sad frown. "It wasn't like that, and it's not like that now. I have to tell him what he wants to hear, if I don't then he'll know." She led them off the main path and over a little bridge that led to the woods of the park.

"He'll know what? Where are we going?" Damon questioned with aggravation as he followed her around the trees to a small creek.

Elena reached into her pocket and pulled out a sleek glove and a small vile. She slipped on the glove and slowly crouched down to pluck a sprig from the plant and showing it to Damon. "I've been ingesting it for years now. It's the only way I can keep some part of who I am…he controls everything else." She mumbled as she shoved the sprig of vervain into the vile. She handed it to him and slipped her gloved off, shoving it into her pocket.

Damon looked down at it in confusion. "Why are you giving me this?"

She looked at him seriously. "I need your help Damon…I can't do this on my own." She started explaining with a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Do _what_? You're being very evasive today." He commented exasperated.

She sighed loudly. "I want out…but he compelled me not to leave him. I'm trapped with him Damon…for eternity." She whispered sadly with wide tear filled eyes.

Damon had to admit the thought alone gave him the chills. Again he felt himself caving to her. She was right…he couldn't say no. "What do we have to do?"

Elena took a deep breath. "We need to kill him." She declared quietly. "That way I'll be free of his compulsion, and free to do what I want."

"I thought you were taking vervain?"

"I am now…but it can't prevent any previous compulsion." She turned to him with a bitter smile. "I still have to do things that I would never normally do, just to _appease_ him…but I've become so numb to it that it barely affects me anymore. Just a job, a mission; another day another body." She scoffed. "Or more." She looked up at him imploringly. "Do you remember when I wasn't like that, Damon? Because I don't." she hung her head and looked at her hands. "I don't even know who I am anymore…I've become _her_; the one person I said I would never be, and here I am doing _exactly _what she did. Playing games, killing whoever's in my way…deceiving the people I care about." Her eyes darted up to meet his.

Damon stepped forward lifting her head up. "Katherine doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"I feel like that sometimes." She sighed deeply, pulling away from Damon slowly. "We should probably head back. You go first; say you went hunting. I'll take another way back." she headed deeper into the woods.

"Elena." He called out. "Thank you." He held up the vile for her to see.

She nodded. "You're welcome. Hide it…last thing we need is for Klaus to find it." She turned around and darted deeper into the woods, leaving Damon behind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Damon entered the mansion, the door slamming closed behind him. He forgot how strong he felt when drinking straight from the vein. Damon had hunted just like he was supposed to and spiked his drink in the process.

He compelled a woman in the park to follow him into the woods and fed her a bit of vervain. He didn't drain her dry…just enough for her to still be functional. He gagged and coughed as he drank, but managed to force the blood down his throat. When he was done, he compelled her to forget what happened and sent her off on her merry way.

He wandered into the main room, where Klaus was sitting at his throne while reading a thick volume of some kind. "Hello Damon." He greeted without looking up from the text. "Where did you disappear off to, hm?"

"Hunting. Where's Elena?" he inquired looking around curiously. He figured asking about her before Klaus did would be a good deflection of his knowledge of her whereabouts.

Klaus finally looked up from the book to raise his eyebrows at Damon. "And here I thought she was with you…" he placed the book on the table beside him and stood gracefully to stride towards Damon. "I'm not wrong, am I?"

"You are." He replied boldly staring him in the eye.

Klaus smirked nodding his head. "Really? Then why do I smell her on you?" he tilted his head to the side in consideration as he waited for Damon's response.

Damon didn't even blink. "She visited my room this morning…she had no problem rubbing in my face how blissfully happy the two of you are." He stated sarcastically.

Klaus chuckled to himself. "Ah, yes…she is quite the spitfire isn't she?" he strolled to the bar and poured himself a glass. "Drink?" he offered.

Damon was tempted, and his throat was still burning from the vervain, but he really would rather not stick around and chat with him. "No, thanks." He started to head back to his room when Klaus' voice stopped him.

"Please…I insist."

Damon wasn't sure if that was a demand or merely a suggestion but he decided not to risk exposing himself. He turned back around with a forced smile. "Sure…why not?" he retraced his steps and took the drink Klaus handed to him, taking a long sip.

The elder vampire furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips in disappointment. "Where have your manners gone? Not even a 'thank you'…I thought you were raised a gentlemen." He scolded as if Damon was a child.

"Thank you." Damon tried not to let it sound strained, but he was having a hard time adapting to living by rules other than his own. "I didn't mean to insult you."

Klaus waved a hand at him in dismissal. "Oh it's quite alright…who is there to thank when you live by your own rules?" he questioned rhetorically, almost reading Damon's mind.

"The dead bodies?" Damon joked to please him…and it did. He earned a boisterous laugh for his efforts.

"Yes I would assume you could." He chuckled before taking a slip of his liquor. "Oh Damon, you'll fit in just fine here."


End file.
